Business Central 17 / Release Wave 2

October 2, 2020

Launch of Business Central 17

The 2020 Release Wave 2 upgrade wave has started and Business Central 17 is now available to everyone and can be implemented in companies.

September 28, 2020

Track packages from multiple types of sales documents

Most shipping companies offer an online service from which one can track the status of a specific shipment while it is underway. Knowledge of where a shipment is located can be crucial in many business processes, not least when, for example, as a company you provide customer service. Therefore, it is important to be able to quickly obtain tracking information regarding the shipment.

Faster access to packet tracking information

In order to provide a broader, and thus faster, access to parcel tracking information from your shipping company, the parcel tracking feature in Business Central 17 will be available on several types of sales documents. In addition to the 'Posted Sales Shipments' page, the tracking feature is also available on the 'Posted Sales Invoice', 'Posted Sales Credit Memo' and 'Posted Return Receipt' pages.

September 16, 2020

Microsoft Power Platform integration

In 2020 Release Wave 2 for Business Central, Microsoft is investing in creating integration with the Microsoft Power Platform applications on several levels. It will be possible for devices from Business Central to be exposed as virtual devices for the data storage and the administration platform Common Data Service. In Common Data Service, the virtual devices are displayed to the users as if they were real physical devices, which enables the consumption of Common Data Service solutions.

September 15, 2020

Improved usability and reliability of the modern clients

Business Central also provides a wide range of clients that enable users of the solution to create efficient workflows and get more done, whether from their desktops, on the go or from Office 365. Business Central has users across the company's departments and business areas, competence levels and need of accessibility, but no matter who you are and from where you access the solution, it is a high priority for Microsoft that the user interface is intuitive to access and use and not least works efficiently and smoothly when it is necessary.

Client enhancements in 2020 Release Wave 2

With 2020 Release Wave 2, the development team behind Business Central focuses on developing and improving the reliability and usability of a range of productivity features, such as additional printing user settings, and will ensure that the clients are accessible and easy to access for a wide variety of types of users.

September 14, 2020

Optimized Service, Reliability and Performance

Regardless of the size of a company or the industry in which it operates, the business management system in the company is expected to be reliable and meet performance requirements so that the company's driving forces can work efficiently and collaborate smoothly. In addition to implementing new innovative features, Microsoft has invested heavily in increasing the performance, reliability and scalability of Business Central, across platforms and business applications.

With 2020 Release Wave 2, Business Central will, focusing on common everyday business scenarios and usage patterns, run more efficiently and reliably. The user experience via the browser becomes faster, as various page elements are only loaded as needed, server resources are optimized for an even faster user interaction and the database is set to both handle larger amounts of data and load them faster. Thus, Microsoft continues to improve application performance and prioritize commonplace everyday use scenarios.

With the October update, users of Business Central will experience an even more stable service that matches the individual company and its business processes, ongoing maintenance that is outside normal working hours and strengthened service condition practices, which ensure maximum uptime. If you as a user need help, there will be a single screen where you can find self-help materials, share thoughts and ideas with the rest of the Business Central community and not least request support, with an improved response time.

Behind the scenes of the application, Business Central's security team and developers work hard to optimize the security of your data. In addition to the continuous improvements of security infrastructure and processes, Microsoft ensures that Business Central meets a wide range of ISO certifications at all times and complies with specified standards for privacy.

July 22, 2020

Migration to Business Central online

An important and high priority area for both Microsoft's business partners and end users of Business Central is the migration from the on-premise version of Business Central to Business Central Online. Therefore, Microsoft continuously optimizes the work processes and divergent scenarios that arise when data needs to be migrated from Dynamics GP, Dynamics SL and Business Central on-premises to Business Central online.

Migration from Business Central 15 on-premises to Business Central 16 online
For customers running Business Central 15 but wanting to upgrade to Business Central 16, Microsoft offers support for data migration. Microsoft implements the necessary upgrade logic from version 15 to 16. Therefore, as a customer, you do not have to upgrade your Business Central 15 on-premise to 16 in order to migrate.

Migration from Business Central 14 on-premises to Business Central 16 online
Microsoft provides support to Business Central 14 on-premise customers, thus supporting the migration of their data to Business Central 16 online. Microsoft then implements the code upgrading functionality from version 14 to 16, which means that customers do not have to upgrade their Business Centarl 14 on-premise to version 16 in order to migrate to the latest version of Business Central online.

Migration from Dynamics GP to Business Central online
Improvements launched in the upcoming Release Wave 2 upgrade mean, among other things, that after a migration from Dynamics GP to Business Central, customers can still view checkbooks, open purchase orders and fixed assets. This migration enhancement reduces the amount of time-consuming manual setup required after a migration.

July 7, 2020

Plans for 2020 Release Wave 2

On July 8, 2020, Microsoft announces the release plans for 2020 Release Wave 2 and with it a list of new features and upgraded functionality that will be launched during the upgrade wave for the applications in Dynamics 365, including the new version of Business Central, which will be called Business Cewntral 17.

The release plans give partners and customers a good opportunity to gain insight into the new and upgraded features, so everyone is ready for the update that will be rolled out in the period October 2020 to March 2021.

As early as August, Microsoft provides early access to the many new features and capabilities, giving partners and customers the opportunity to test and validate them before they are automatically rolled out in October.